Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
Governing Board Minutes

August 9, 2005

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church Governing Board

Prior to the opening of the meeting Pastor Burcham led members of the board to the Southeast corner of the church property where the Tiny Treasures Pre-School playground is planned to be built to discuss the layout of the playground.

President Keese opened the meeting with a prayer

President Keese called the meeting to order at 6:30pm . Those in attendance were Scott Snyder, Lorrie Graaf, Lou Grotheer, Ken Wunsch, Charles Jackson , Doug Pals, Shawn Woolman , Deb Keese, Laurie Peterson and Pastor Burcham

Laurie Peterson asked the board to step down as the Secretary of the Board and an election was held to fill the position. Charles Jackson was elected as the new Secretary for 2005-2006.

Pastor Burcham presented his Sr. Pastor report (see attached report). He briefly discussed worship attendance. Attendance for the 11:30am service is increasing and the 9:30am service has hit a glass ceiling (approx. 75% capacity of the sanctuary). Giving has remained relatively strong through the summer. Tiny Treasures director, Terry Steinke , was interviewed by a Channel 13 reporter for a general interest story for Des Moines area preschool facilities. The board discussed new quarterly ministry report (based upon the sample report attached) to be completed by the staff in the future.

The Ablaze campaign was re-explained briefly by Pastor Burcham, and a progress report was given regarding the Ministry Action Team's (MAT) efforts to craft curriculum for the campaign within Gloria Dei. Plans include Gloria Dei providing developed curriculum to other churches to help in the goal to spread the Gospel to 100 million people by 2017 (the 500 th anniversary of the Reformation). Sheryl Woolman is the coordinator of the campaign. Information will continue to become available in the coming months.

Strategic Planning for the next 6 years will begin at next month's board meeting. Pastor Burcham indicated that Gloria Dei Lutheran Church is in an enviable position. Attendance is rising, we are fully staffed, there is harmony within the staff and giving is sufficient to meet the needs of the church. A demographics study of the community and the surrounding area has been accomplished. Population growth in the next 10 years will be strong in the “Hwy 141 Corridor” between Urbandale and Granger. This will present a potential opportunity for a “satellite” or “daughter” Lutheran church to serve the worship needs of the new residents. Gloria Dei Lutheran Church's vision, values and purpose dovetail with this growth. A Governing Board retreat on September 17 will begin the discussion of developing a five plus year written strategic plan for the church. Topics of discussion at the retreat will include Gloria Dei Lutheran Church's Vision review, Community Demographics reports, Goals and Benchmarks and possible pathways.

Pastor Burcham recommended a follow-up two day meeting “Pursuing the Vision Workshop” on September 30 and October 1 to continue refining the Strategic Plan. This would bring together leaders of the church including the Governing Board, Church Elders and Ministry Staff to work on the planning process. He requested that the board approve contracting Jim Galvin of Galvin and Associates to facilitate the meeting and provide guidance in developing the Strategic Plan. The cost for bringing Jim Galvin to the meeting will be $ 2500. After discussion of Mr. Galvin's qualifications and Pastor Burcham's past experiences in Synod workshops led by Mr. Galvin, Laurie Peterson made a motion to approve the expense of bring Jim Galvin to the facilitate the workshop. This motion was seconded by Shawn Woolman . The board approved the expense.

New room assignments are being discussed for the church. The existing board room is being considered for a Gloria Dei bookstore, where members can view and purchase books for bible study, small group study and general reading. Tentative plans are to move the Board room into the room currently used for Bells practice and storage.

The membership report was presented. Discussion showed some missing information, so the approval of the report was tabled.

Minutes of the July 12, 2005 meeting (see attached)were presented, discussed, revised (one spelling error) and approved.

Doug Pals presented the Financial Report. The financial report was approved by the board.

Action Items

• Shawn Woolman asked the board to consider drafting a policy regarding how excess “cash on hand” church funds would be managed in the future. If the excess funds reach a specified amount, rather than keeping them in a checking account, would they be placed in a managed investment account, used to pay for items on staff and members' “wish lists” or dedicated to “missions”.

• Deb Keese asked that a new section be drafted for the Governing Board Policy book covering “facilities”. This would allow the Governing Board oversight to future changes to the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church property. This request was motioned for a vote by Doug Pals, seconded by Scott Snyder and approved by the board. The Policy sub-committee will draft the section and present to the board for approval at the next board meeting.

• Pastor Burcham requested that the planned Tiny Treasures playground expenditures (previously budgeted in the original action plan for the Tiny Treasures program) be approved by the board. The motion for approval was made by Charles Jackson , seconded by Laurie Peterson and approved by the board.

• Some of the eligible ministry staff who currently work as “commission” workers asked to be called by Gloria Dei Lutheran Church and be designated as a “called” staff member. These staff members include Terri Steinke and Tim Kightlinger . Doug Pals motioned for a vote, Ken Wunsch seconded and the motion was approved by the board.

• Pastor Burcham recommended the board award a $1000 scholarship to Rod Serbus (pending completion of paperwork). This scholarship is a continuation of support the church has provided Rod in his study of the ministry.

• Pastor Burcham provided a sample of a planned “Quarterly Ministry Report” from the ministry staff. He asked the Board to provide some analysis of the report format and content. Deb Keese recommended Pastor also ask the staff for feedback on the reports.

• Motion to adjourn was made, seconded and approved

Charles Jackson

August 18, 2005

Charles Jackson

August 18, 2005